FACTS ABOUT TOURING

- By 2004, 40% of the one-week touring market had gone non-Equity. Members demanded the Union take back the road and secure that work under Equity contract.

- To win back the work, tiered salary scales with back end participation were introduced during the 2004 negotiations with the Broadway League. The contract was ratified by 96% of the voting members.

- Equity’s efforts were successful. Over the past ten years, Equity has recaptured the majority of the work that had gone non-union. The one-week touring market is now predominantly Equity.

- $143 million in member earnings has been generated by tiered and SET Agreement tours since 2008.

- Without tier and SETA productions, Equity members would have suffered $35 million in lost wages, 20,248 lost health weeks and $2.8 million in lost pension contributions last season alone.

- The touring production of a show is separate from the Broadway production, with its own investors, budget and expenses.

- The tier of a touring production is determined by the guarantees the producer is able to secure from local presenters. Equity’s bargaining agreements for touring productions are with the producers and not with the presenters.

- Equity negotiated strong language into the bargaining agreements that requires producers to provide detailed financial information in order to qualify for a tier. The union thoroughly reviews each request and has denied the use of tiers to productions.

- Improvements have been made to all of the touring contracts with each successive negotiation. For example, wages and per diems for Tier C contract productions have risen 19.5% since tiers were first introduced; ages and per diems for Category 2 SET tours have risen 18.7% since 2008.

- Actors share in the success of touring productions through back-end participation. Tier and SET contracts ensure that producers share overage with the Equity members in the company after the guarantee and expenses are met each week. When a production recoups its investment, each Equity member receives a permanent minimum salary increase of 17% and the percentage share of the weekly overage is increased.

- The union actively monitors the weekly financials of shows and conducts comprehensive audits when there is any indication information is not being reported accurately.

- Equity has a robust negotiations process for all of our contracts that starts with membership input through surveys and committee work. Preparations for the summer 2015 Production Contract negotiations will begin at the end of 2014.

- In the next few months, Equity will be conducting a survey of the entire membership on a number of issues. Make sure your contact info and email preferences are up to date. You can find these in your profile in the Member Portal.